Reagan Pushes Military Strength

May 22, 1985|United Press International

ANNAPOLIS, MD. — Beset by budget-cutters in Congress and scandal in military procurement, President Reagan today told graduates of the Naval Academy that U.S. military strength, not ``wishful thinking and good intentions,`` will keep world peace.

With only a slight reference to the scandal of overpriced parts and contract-padding by General Dynamics -- the Navy`s largest contractor -- Reagan said Soviet aggression increased during the 1970s when military spending dropped.

``A weaker America did not mean a more peaceful world,`` he told the 1,032 graduates. ``That`s about as likely as the Army stealing the statue of Tecumseh,`` the Indian statue revered by midshipmen.

With the House proposing to freeze military spending without an allowance for inflation, the Senate poised to cut back his MX missile program and Navy Secretary John Lehman having barred General Dynamics from new contracts until it adopts a code of ethics and repays $75 million, Reagan said, ``It is too costly for America not to be prepared.``

Reagan added, ``Today, as throughout our history, it is strength not weakness, resolve not vacillation, that will keep the peace. It is about time that those who place their faith in wishful thinking and good intentions get the word.``

Recalling ``America`s unwillingness to prepare in the 1930s`` for world war, Reagan said, ``Let me promise you, as long as I am president that will not happen again.``

He said since the end of World War II, ``American military might has been an immensely positive force in the world.`` Those who now enjoy democracy ``owe their freedom, to one degree or another, to the protection of the United States military.``

In his first address to the Naval Academy, Reagan praised the service.